Palazzi dei Rolli of Genoa - Italy - World Heritage List

The building was commissioned by Franco Lercari and its construction was begun in 1571. In 1845 it was bought by the Parodi family who still owns it.
The building, whose architect is unknown, differs with respect to the other buildings on the Strada Nuova. The facade's lower part is decorated with diamond-pointed ashlar masonry, while its upper floors originally had an airier appearance thanks to a series of open loggias, which were later enclosed with glass panes and were walled-in at the outset of the nineteenth century.
The facade's portal supported by two telamons by Taddeo Carlone, with chopped-off noses, is also particularly noteworthy. The portal recalls the horrid legend of Megollo Lercari, one of the patron's ancestors, who took revenge on his enemies by mutilating their ears and noses.
Vestibule of the first floor "Building of the store of Trebizond" After having climbed the first of two piani nobili, nestled within two niches, one may admire Taddeo Carlone's busts of Franco Lercari and his wife Antonia De Marini. The room also contains frescoed decorations painted towards the end of the sixteenth century and depicting airy landscapes in the panels and battle scenes in the vault.
The vault in the hall on the second piano nobile contains a true masterpiece of Genoese painting: a fresco by Luca Cambiaso depicting Megollo Lercari's enterprise, involving the construction of Genoa's warehouse in Trebisonda, that is the necessary constructions for trade to be conducted in the Genoese colonies along the Black Sea. The fresco is also intended to recall the construction of Palazzo Lercari on the Strada Nuova, thus providing an idea of what the street looked like during the first few years of its existence.